By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Saturday night at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway brought plenty of exciting thrills across all classes of competition, even with a racing card that looked a little bit different than a typical evening at the speedway.
It was another first-time winner in the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 class, as Logan Falini parked his machine in victory lane at the end of the 25-lap A-Main. One of Lanco’s greatest racers captured his first checkered flag in four years, as Mike Rutherford won the main event for the Yeti Fence Sportsman class. Seth Gregory put on a show in the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes, charging from sixth to score the victory. And Matt Kiefert along with Addison Noble each brought home wins in the second and final appearance of the season for the PA Micro Midgets.
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
In another entertaining battle of youth versus experience in the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600s, it was Logan Falini who tallied one for the young guns on Saturday night at the Clyde, as the Philadelphia driver held off Chris Panczner and Jesse Maurer to collect his first-career victory at the speedway.
Falini started from pole position for the feature, and although he led all 25 laps, it was far from a Saturday night cruise en route to the victory. While Falini set a strong early pace bolting around the top of the speedway, Panczner and Maurer each made good time racing around the lower groove of the track, and kept Falini honest particularly on restarts.
It actually was on the upper groove where Panczner nearly made his move for the lead, as he circled around the outside of Falini on a lap 6 restart. However, with a caution waving before the lap could be scored, Panczner had to surrender that top spot, and Falini kept command of the race.
Falini was largely unchallenged after that close call, as he sped off into the night while Panczner and Maurer continued to scrap for second. All seemed to be sailing smoothly for the driver of the J&J Quality Transport No. 11x Hyper Chassis, as he rounded turn 4 with the checkered flag in sight. However, a slowing car in that fourth corner led to the yellow caution lights flickering on just mere seconds before Falini could cross the finish line, forcing him to endure one last restart.
With Falini staying loyal to the upper lane, Panczner showed a nose to the young driver on the run down to turn 3 and the final trip into turn 1. But despite the best efforts of the former Clyde Martin Memorial Race winner, Falini remained unfazed and hit his marks all the way to the finish to put the final touches on his maiden victory.
In his first night out with a new car after a big crash in June, a second-place effort from Panczner was still more than respectable, while Maurer held on for his best result of the season in third. Bradley Brown finished fourth to extend his points lead to 114 over Brent Ely with four races remaining, and Matthew Donley rounded out the top five in a rare Winged 600 appearance.
Results:
1. 11X-Logan Falini[1]; 2. 15P-Christopher Panczner[2]; 3. 72-Jesse Maurer[3]; 4. 23-Bradley Brown[6]; 5. 15D-Matthew Donley[4]; 6. 08-Dominic Schmidt[10]; 7. 17-Brent Ely[5]; 8. 10L-Lukas Kostic[7]; 9. 11H-Holden Eckman[12]; 10. 28-Charlie Allaband[9]; 11. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[14]; 12. 51-Chris Gerhart[13]; 13. 1F-James Fries[11]; 14. 99G-Gordon Greenlaw[15]; 15. 28J-Archer Jumper[8]; 16. 75R-Brevan Rothermel[16]; 17. 11R-Tommy Rinck[18]; 18. 29SR-Brayden Benjamin[19]; 19. 707-Jax Wittmer[17]; 20. 05-Chase Bouchelle[20]; 21. 73-Andrew Rothermel[21]
Points (Top 5) (After 12 of 16 Races):
1. 23-Bradley Brown[1165]; 2. 17-Brent Ely[-114]; 3. 51-Chris Gerhart[-269]; 4. 14-Jason Swavely[-348]; 5. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-402]
Logan Falini pocketed his first victory at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Yeti Fence Sportsman
You may have been forgiven for thinking that Mike Rutherford’s winning days at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway were in the past, particularly after the Lebanon native took a two-year hiatus from competition while battling some health issues. But on Saturday night, Rutherford reminded everybody in attendance why he’s one of the best to ever strap into a micro sprint, as he came from seventh starting position to capture the victory of the Yeti Fence Sportsman main event.
While Rutherford began mounting his charge to the front, it was Matt Fernsler who led the opening four laps of the race in front of Bret Cronrath. Cronrath – still searching for his first win of the season – made the move for the lead right as the leaders flashed under the flagstand to complete the fifth circuit. By that point, Rutherford had worked his way into the third spot.
It still appeared that this would be Cronrath’s race, as the No. 5 stretched out a hefty advantage of nearly three seconds over the rest of the pack, growing that lead even well after Rutherford had moved to the runner-up position. But a caution with 10 laps left wiped out the advantage, and set the stage for an exciting battle between two former champions of the speedway.
Rutherford used a good restart from the outside of the front row to set up Cronrath for a move out of turn 2. The drivers raced wheel-to-wheel in turns 3 and 4, with Cronrath keeping Rutherford pinched down low enough to hold the advantage.
But with the bottom groove still left open, Rutherford threw his machine into turn 1, sliding across the nose of Cronrath’s mount. Cronrath crossed Rutherford over once more down the backstretch, with Rutherford setting him up for one more challenge off of turn 4. Third time proved to be the charm, as Rutherford raced back alongside of Cronrath down the frontstretch, held the bottom groove for the entirety of the next lap, and finally cleared Cronrath’s machine for good with six laps to go.
Mike Rutherford (No. 27T) and Bret Cronrath (No. 5) battled for the win in the closing laps of Saturday night’s Yeti Fence Sportsman feature at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
While a few more cautions forced Rutherford to sweat it out, the Titan Wings No. 27T RTS Chassis stayed in clean air the rest of the way, and the 2002 Sportsman champion at the Clyde sped off to claim the checkered flag 1.277 seconds ahead of Cronrath at the finish. The win for Rutherford was his first in four years, as he had last taken victory at the Clyde in the 270 class in August of 2022.
Even though Cronrath had to settle for second, the three-time champion did take over the points lead with his finish. The advantage sits at 32 points over Brandon Heist – who was not in attendance on Saturday night – with four races remaining. Matt Fernsler rounded out the podium in third, while Mike Kreiser and Tommy Rinck made up the remainder of the top five.
Results:
1. 27T-Michael Rutherford[7]; 2. 5-Bret Cronrath[3]; 3. 23K-Matt Fernsler[1]; 4. 77-Michael Kreiser[9]; 5. 2T-Tommy Rinck[2]; 6. 31-Tyler Martin[10]; 7. 31M-Noah Merkey[12]; 8. 21D-Dave Williams[8]; 9. 17-Masen Stapleton[4]; 10. 9R-Mason Ruffner[11]; 11. 97-Billy Logeman[6]; 12. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[5]
Points (Top 5) (After 12 of 16 Races):
1. 5-Bret Cronrath[1011]; 2. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[-32]; 3. 77-Michael Kreiser[-96]; 4. 75-Justin Harrington[-108]; 5. 21V-David Ravel[-181]
Mike Rutherford went back to Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway victory lane on Saturday night after winning the Yeti Fence Sportsman main event. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke
Ephrata native Seth Gregory had to work hard for it, but the driver of the Stitzer Auto Body No. 14 Mongoose Chassis put his machine in the winner’s circle for the second time this season in Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke competition.
Gregory started the race from the sixth position, while all of the drivers in the top five were searching for their first Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway victories. Leading that charge was Dave Schroeder, who looked to parlay back-to-back podium finishes into that long-awaited first triumph.
Schroeder pulled away and led the entire first half of the race, while Gregory had worked his way up to third and was challenging Brandon Worthington for second before the first caution waved on lap 15. Gregory got into the runner-up slot after that restart, and the next restart two laps later would be where “The Ephrata Express” made his bid for the win.
Gregory stayed on the outside of Schroeder at the drop of the green, and the two cars raced side-by-side for two whole laps before Greogry finally cleared the move with seven laps left to run.
It was smooth sailing the rest of the way, as Gregory sealed the win and moved up to third in the point standings with the result. Points leader Justin Harrington started 10th but rallied all the way to a second-place finish, giving him a 121-point lead over Trevor Waegel with four races to go. Matt Fernsler raced from ninth to third, while Asher Kempton started 12th and came home fourth. Schroeder was involved in a late-race skirmish after losing the lead, but was still able to fight back for a fifth-place finish.
Results:
1. 14-Seth Gregory[6]; 2. 76-Justin Harrington[11]; 3. 19-Matt Fernsler[9]; 4. 23-Asher Kempton[13]; 5. X-Dave Schroeder[1]; 6. 3H-Corey Harting[5]; 7. 112-Dylan Yeingst[4]; 8. 68-Kevin Jones[7]; 9. 3H2-Holly Harting[14]; 10. 17-Aspen Groff[16]; 11. 8-Michael Spadafora[12]; 12. 4W-Brandon Worthington[2]; 13. 26C-Michael Coen[8]; 14. 15-Alyssa Holmes[15]; 15. 24K-David Kirkner[3]; 16. 44S-Trevor Waegel[10]; 17. 74-Paige Rothermel[17]
Points (Top 5) (After 12 of 16 Races):
1. 76-Justin Harrington[1169]; 2. 44S-Trevor Waegel[-121]; 3. 14-Seth Gregory[-181]; 4. 3H-Corey Harting[-190]; 5. 15-Alyssa Holmes[-284]
Seth Gregory carved through the field to claim the win of Saturday night’s Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
PA Micro Midget 500
Another strong field of competitors came to the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway as part of the second appearance of the season for the PA Micro Midgets. In the 500 division feature, Matt Kiefert pocketed his first win of the season, parking his Dixons Plumbing No. 7 Hyper Chassis in the winner’s circle at the conclusion of a wild 20 laps.
Turn 1 on the race’s opening circuit was “calamity corner,” as contact between leaders Chris Lennox and Ryan Rost set off a 13-car pileup that virtually blocked the racetrack. Despite the big accident, all drivers were okay, and only a few of the drivers involved were unable to continue in the race.
Lennox was still the leader at the restart, and a false start from Lily Barrett put Kiefert on the front row for the next attempt at the green flag. Using a run out of turn 2 on the first complete green-flag lap, Kiefert ducked to the inside of Lennox and captured the lead as the field circled around to complete the opening revolution.
While Kiefert looked dominant, there were plenty of comers and goers behind him, including Chase Frey, who had captured the win of the first PA Micro Midget race at the Clyde three weeks prior. Despite starting 22nd at the drop of the initial green flag, the 2025 PA Micro Midget 500 champion missed the opening lap pileup and put himself in contention to challenge for the win. Three-time champion Todd Walls also rallied into the battle, even after being involved in the first-lap melee.
Although Frey gave Kiefert a run for his money on a late-race restart, the Colora, MD driver still held serve at the front of the pack, and wouldn’t relinquish the lead all the way to the checkered flag.
Walls was able to get past Frey on the final restart for second, while Frey still completed his impressive run with a third. Rost bounced back from the first-lap fracas to finish fourth, and Barrett completed the top five.
Results:
1. 7-Matt Kiefert[4]; 2. 33-Todd Walls[7]; 3. 9F-Chase Frey[23]; 4. 16X-Ryan Rost[3]; 5. 4L-Lily Barrett[2]; 6. 55-Ryan Wells[11]; 7. 21K-Asher Paxton[9]; 8. 21M-JD Myers[10]; 9. 3K-Katelyn Johnson[6]; 10. 21-Daniel Feltch[12]; 11. 41N-Paul Craley[22]; 12. 9B-Luke Baker[18]; 13. 27C-Justin Care[21]; 14. 71B-Byron Urey[16]; 15. 9W-Maddox Wire[19]; 16. 17G-Landon Godfrey[20]; 17. 1XJR-Josh Forry[5]; 18. 17-Chris Lennox[1]; 19. 81H-Timothy Hartle[15]; 20. 10G-Bobby Geiman[24]; 21. 17T-Dakota Thomas[8]; 22. 48N-Mason Noble[13]; 23. 30-Jeremy Sperlein[14]; 24. 19C-Jim Rost JR[17]
DNQ: 927-George Reed; 28-Nick Decker; 16-CJ Kimm; 22-Keenan Wade
Matt Kiefert collected his first PA Micro Midget 500 win of 2026 in Saturday night’s 20-lapper at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
PA Micro Midget 300
Continuing her torrid stretch of racing in the PA Micro Midget 300 division, Seven Valleys native Addison Noble collected her eighth victory of the 2026 season – and her fifth in the last six races.
Noble was dominant all night long, leading every lap of both the heat race and the feature on her way to the win. In an A-Main that didn’t see a caution flag, Noble’s Susan Wood @ Ideal Mortgage Group No. 12N Hyper Chassis scored the win by over three seconds at the end of the 15-lap feature event, sweeping the two events held for the PA Micro Midget 300 division at the Clyde in 2026.
Maddie Myers came home with a second-place finish, while Speedweek champion Hank Lloyd rounded out the podium. Camden Spangler ran in the runner-up spot for most of the race, but ended up finishing in the fourth position.
Results:
1. 12N-Addison Noble[1]; 2. 73-Maddie Myers[4]; 3. 911-Hank Lloyd[3]; 4. 5-Camden Spangler[2]
Addison Noble made it a sweep of the PA Micro Midget 300 races at the Clyde in 2026 with her victory on Saturday night. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway is back in action next Saturday, Aug. 22 with a points show featuring the return of all five weekly divisions. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m., with hot laps beginning the on-track action at 6 p.m. Grandstand admission is just $10, but live streaming coverage will be provided by The Cushion for those unable to attend in-person.